Zena is a beautiful Beglian Malinois a woman in British Columbia adopted from Rising Phoenix Mastiff Rescue in Yakima last month.

So I wasn’t shocked when a woman in British Columbia recently contacted me about a young Belgian Malinois named Zena that she recently adopted from Rising Phoenix.

The family already had a 5-year-old Malinois named Leroy, and had wanted to adopt another one for awhile. They’d hesitated to get another one because of their busy work schedules and their worries that new pup/dog would change the dog dynamics in their home (in addition to Leroy, they has a 9-year-old Basset Hound named Maxamillion).

Unfortunately, the Malinois that Rising Phoenix sent them a serious behavior issue that has created tension and turmoil in their home.

The family had never adopted a dog from a rescue before. The woman heard about the Malinois through a friend who had adopted 2 dogs from Rising Phoenix (and was lucky enough to have no problems with either dog).

When she contacted Rising Phoenix, Trish Prater (the group’s founder) told her this about Zena:

She had been trained

She was timid and “wanting to please”

She was good with cats and toddlers

She loved to hike/run on trails

Prater also told her the people who had Zena gave her up because they thought they were getting a smaller German Shepherd, but “when they realized it was not a smaller GS and that it needed to be worked, they dumped her.”

Zena sounded just the dog this woman wanted, so she told Prater she would adopt her.

A few days before the adoption, Porter told the adopter that “Zena cut her hip on a horse trailer” while chasing a ball.

Prater assured her that before she took Zena to a vet to get a physical and a Health Certificate for crossing the border she would make sure the vet assessed the wound.

The adopter arranged for her friend to pick up Zena near US/Canada border from friend who would bring her from Yakima. The transfer went smoothly.

When Zena arrived the woman took her to a neutral location to meet Leroy and go for a walk with him and a friend’s Labrador Retriever.

This is when Praters’s claims about Zena began to unravel:

Lie #1 – Zena is “timid.”

As soon as Zena saw the Lab she immediately tried to attack it. Then she tried to attack every dog she saw on the walk. She also tried to attack both Maxamilian and Leroy.

The adopter got a trainer who brought over his “stable dogs” to see if Zena just went after particular kinds of dogs. Zena did not discriminate – she tried to attack all of them.

Prater told the woman that she wasn’t giving Zena enough time to adapt and that Zena had not shown any aggression with anyone besides her.

Any dog does need several weeks to adapt to a new home, but that doesn’t provide much reassurance for someone with no experience handling aggressive dogs. And to imply the distraught adopter for the Zena’s aggression was inappropriate and just plain mean.

Lie #2 – Zena was trained.

Nope. She’s is house and crate trained. That’s it. She didn’t even sit on command.

Zena’s wound wasn’t treated properly before she was adopted. Her adopter had to pay a vet about $500 to treat it.

Lie #3 – A vet assessed her wound.

After their initial walk the woman noticed an endema (swelling) around the wound. She called the vet who examined Zena before she was adopted. The vet told her “no physical was done and the cut was never even addressed.”

A couple of days later, the wound on Zena’s hind leg opened up and began to bleed. The adopter’s vet determined it was a puncture wound (not a cut as Prater claimed) and sedated her to clean up it up, remove nonviable tissue, and stich her up. He also clipped her nails which had been allowed to grow too long.

After treating Zena he said “a dog with this much aggression would need a lot of work.”

Prater tells adopter about Zena’s previous abuse only after she adopter Zena.

Not long after she adopter Zena the woman contacted Prater to let her know she had to muzzle Zena to protect her other dogs. Porter then mentioned a tiny detail she hadn’t revealed before:

“Trisha told me that the people who had her before she got her had taken her to a “Trainer” who put a muzzle on her, and threw her in the back yard with 10 other dogs. Only to be beaten up. Then she was tossed back into her crate that was on a trailer, covered with a tarp in 110 degree weather. Only to be let out to under go another beating. This story was a far cry form what was disclosed to me before accepting her.”

Well, that explains why Zena is so reactive to dogs. What dog wouldn’t be reactive after suffering this torture?

Zena’s adopter told me, “This story was a far cry from what was disclosed to me before accepting her. I would have never of agreed to take a dog with any type of aggression. I am not trained in that field.”

Porter admits to adopter that Zena had been physically abused by her previous owner after she adopted Zena.

But we already know that Rising Phoenix’s vet did not treat Zena’s puncture wound. Furthermore, Zena’s microchip is registered to SCRAPS in Spokane, so if she hadn’t been spayed before SCRAPS would have done it before she was adopted. (I’ve sent a request to SCRAPS to find more details about her time there).

After a few days with Zena the adopter contacted Rising Phoenix one more time to resolve the situation. Some woman named Avis quickly dismissed her concerns and said, “Per the driver you have lied to multiple people. As she said you keep lying to her as well.”

As I said earlier, the woman who picked up Zena is a close friend of the adopter, and Avis provided no proof that she said the adopter lied.

“Trisha told me I was killing the dog by giving it the recommended treatment from the vet”

Trisha said “She believes we aren’t providing a good home for our pup”

Adopter tells Prater she would not have adopted Zena if she knew she had been abused and had behavior problems.

When adopters contacted Porter about their dog’s health problems “she said the dog was fine when she turned it over to adopters andcontacted the local SPCA to accuse adopters of causing the injuries.”

“After I contacted RPMR she was rude and turned around and blamed me.”

After speaking with Avis, the woman stopped contacting Rising Phoenix and decided she couldn’t return Zena to the rescue that treated the dog so badly and lied to her about the dog’s health and temperament.

Instead, she reached out to Malinois rescues to get assistance treating Zena’s fear aggression. She’s also paying for a trainer to work with Zena as well, and she’s passed on shifts at work so she can walk Zena and work on her training.

Her work is starting to pay off. Here’s her latest update:

“As for Zena, she is healing physically. Her wound looks amazing. She enjoys car rides and running free in our back yard. She is learning her manners. We are doing basic training with her, the kind you would normally start your puppy off with. She still has fear aggression towards dogs of all sizes. Everyday she gets less and less hand shy around us as her trust builds. She loves her morning cuddles with me before we head out.”

Zena even started playing with the adopter’s other Malinois, but she still tries to attack the Basset Hound.

Adopter tells Prater she would not have adopted Zena if she knew she had been abused and had behavior problems.

Although Zena is making progress, the adopter is looking for a more appropriate home for Zena.

“Zena needs a home where she feels safe, rewarded for good behaviour, and redirected for undesired behaviour. I myself am not trained in fear aggression and she has had a rough life. I would love to find her a home where she had a handler with experience and no triggers. Ideally a single dog home. Until that time I will continue to advocate on her behalf.”

If you are interested in adopting Zena email me at info@seattledogspot.com and I will forward it to the woman in BC.

Lots of people would have shipped Zena off to a shelter where she probably would have been euthanized. Instead, this woman is honoring her commitment to Zena by continuing to work on her behavior issues and giving her the love and attention she has most likely never gotten, even if she has to continue to pay for Zena’s medical needs and training.

So far she’s paid about $800 for medical treatment and dog walkers.

“It’s not the money I spent on Zena that stings and makes my blood boil. It’s the fact that I gave money to a organization that odiously does not have the dogs best interest at mind. That it’s money I gave to a person who takes advantage of dogs and people for financial gain.”

Avis from Rising Phoenix claims the adopter’s close friend said she “lied to multiple people” but provided no proof.

Exploitive rescues like Rising Phoenix don’t just inflict damage on the mental and health of the dogs they sell like commodities. They throw families into turmoil by sending them dogs with behavior problems the adopters didn’t know about and can’t handle.

And by making a family’s dog adoption experience so horrific, they make it more likely a family will go to a breeder to get a dog the next time they get a dog instead of a rescue.

Here’s how Zena’s adoption affected the family who adopted her:

“As for me rescuing another dog. I have learned a lot. Had no idea that there are people out there that use what I refer as “dog trafficking” to make a living. I thought all rescues were run by people who had huge hearts and only wanted the best for the dogs that they rescued.

Next time, if there is indeed a next time. I will do my research. I will ask for multiple references. I will visit the sight were the dogs are kept. I will talk to the vet in advance about the care that was involved.

But that will be long way down the road. My family needs time to heal. This whole event has caused enormous stress on my marriage. Many a nights I have felt nauseated, could not sleep, and have had tears running down my face. I would read the messages back again wondering where with who adoption went wrong. It went wrong by me taking a reference from a friend with out researching the rescue, and by me believing everything that Trisha had to say.”

When we adopted blue bell she also came with wounds ball over her head and ears. They said she cut her self on a fence. It took us about two months to get her healthy and up to weight. Her temperament over the next 6 months changed to where she would not stand little kids . I contacted the them to let them know we could no longer keep her because she nipped to kids and we would not lock her up every time people came over . I was told I had to email them with our problems. I never heard from them . I tried to find blue bell a new home and she also became aggressive to the new family other dog . We had never taken her out with out being on a leash for her walks and didn’t know she would react that way.
We are not unfortunately with neo temperament we had a male for 5 years that was not welcoming to other dogs . But grew to love our female English mastiff . But it took time . He was also a save .
We did have to take bule bell back the the rescue which after reading your many stories brakes my heart . She is a very sweet girl who loves her family just not little ones or other dogs . I checked out the web site tonight and she is still there with very little true information about who this dog is . She has also lost a lot of weight . It’s horrible to think they just want to unload these animals to people with out giving them the truth ..

Who is the vet that looked at the dog for a health certificate and didn’t address the wound? That is horrible! The vet is responsible for the dog’s well being. Since the dog was crossing borders I would assume that the dog would have to have a clean bill of health along with any wounds being addressed. I would like the vet’s name!

Why can’t these people be stopped. It makes my stomach churn. My daughter rescued her St. Bernard from them. They thought it was sketchy but didn’t want the dog to go back. The lady would never return her emails. Long story short Bella was diagnosed shortly after they had her with bone cancer and passed away at 3 1/2. If that was even her age. Bella was a beautiful sweet dog. I have rescued 3 of my dogs and I could not imagine how people can treat dogs cats or any animal so poorly. These people need to be shut down !!!

Maybe we can do something to change the law. Form a committee?
Every legislative session there are good animal welfare bills that maybe don’t even get out of committee, but I am so impressed with the people who keep trying.
What do you think about talking with Dan Paul (HSUS-WA) and/or Rick Hall (Save Washington Pets/Washington Alliance for Humane Legislation) about the possibilities for change in the law?
What does local animal control say in Yakima (is that the location of the rescue)? They certainly have the right to look at the property considering the complaints. Almost sounds like a hoarder. I understand how complicated it can be. More info needed.
I see the group is on facebook.

2 problems w/animal control in Yakima. She hides the dogs by useing a network of foster homes to house the dogs until they are adopted, and no one knows where they are. Also, Yakima animal control has historically not been very aggressive about going after dog abusers. The law gives them lots of leeway to do it, and they take advantage of it.

I agree that talking with the animal protection groups in Olympia. My opinion is that unregulated rescues are doing to most damage to dogs in WA.

The rescue is definitely sounding like they are not doing due diligence or using truth when adopting dogs. That gives rescue a bad name and hurts the entire reason so many work with animals that need help. Some regulation would be wonderful..at least giving a basic standard that had to be met with each dog. However..never should anyone adopt a dog without meeting it first and especially if there are already dogs in the home. They should have an introduction in a neutral place and allow you to get a sense of what the dynamic could be. Many rescues will not adopt without home checks, meeting the adopter etc. That right there makes one think this rescue will do anything to move a dog along and get the money. I feel really bad for this family and for this dog. The torture it was put thru should never have come once safely in a rescue….It just is sad that even with all the publicity people like this rescue and Sharon Gold will continue to get adopters, money and harm dogs along the way. I have the most respect for this adopter that has not given up and figured out a way to work thru it. Its not easy and most would not. I just hope others learn a lesson here…MEET THE DOG before you adopt. Pics and cuteness tell you nothing about what you are getting…

We have been looking to adopt amother dog into our family since losing our beloved last rescue Canada day. It is really hard to find the perfect fit for our family and when we do there seems to be a list a mile long ahead of us. Stories like these scare me off from rescuing. I cannot believe how hard it is to find a dog with so many dogs being euthanized in the world.
I have been checking rescues all over Canada for weeks.
This adopter has given this poor girl another chance at life after such a hell is start for her and such a toll on the adopters life. She is a true angel . I hope by the writer putting this out there that rescues like this one will be shut down because they are not doing any good in the already screwed up world.

When thinking about adopting from a “rescue” organization please do a complete search of the organization on the internet for comments from people who have had dealings with the organization. It can be a real eye-opener and it might just save you lots of heartache and money. Also, make yourself very familar with the breed you want. Not every breed is right for every adopter or lifestyle. After all, it is about giving the dog the best chance it can have for love and happiness.

We had a horrible experience with Trish and Rising Phoenix in December of 2010 – she’s been making a living at ripping people off and mis-treating animals for a very very long time now. How sad that it’s taking so long to stop her. Hopefully keeping her name attached to her ACCURATE reputation will help.

A few years ago we had to give up our St. Bernard due to nipping other kids in our neighborhood. She was a rescue from the Oregon St. Bernard Rescue. I worked with her for 5 years on her ‘training and she became such a great family dog. But she never lost the ‘Alpha’ female in her towards other dogs, and really could not be unattended in our front yard. With kids on the way it was a hard choice but we could not keep her anymore. I called Rising Pheonix and explained my situationg and Trisha was very caring over the phone and explained the $250 adoption charge and 1 bag of dog food. They came and picked her up. I wrote a full letter explainging our dogs habbits and where to avoid pitfalls that could trigger her. I explained she needed to be adopted by someone without kids and not around other dogs. Two weeks passed I see our dog on PetFinder and pictures of her looking dirty and in a fenced area with other large dogs…I emailed her asking if our dog was ok due to seeing the pictures that she was put into a very bad situation. Trisha response was that our dog had a rare form of eye cancer and her health was deteriorating. I emailed her I was gonig to come up and get her. Trisha emailed back that she was with a foster family and resting her last days… “I was in shock…” I emailed again and again I would come get her… I got a final email that she passed… I spoke with the Yakima Police animal divisioni and explained the situation. They knew the story all to well.. The police just have not been able to get concrete evidence on her to shut her down. I sent my dog to be murdered… It was my fault I did not research her business more thorough…